Most expensive comic book ever is sold

A first edition copy of the comic in which Superman made his debut has sold for a world record USD 2.16 million (GBP 1.4 million) at auction, with the seller widely rumoured to be actor Nicolas Cage.

The issue of Action Comics was first published in 1938 and featured the first ever glimpse of the Man of Steel, who has gone on to become arguably the world's most recognisable comic book character.

It was sold through the internet auction site ComicConnect with a starting bid of just USD 1, though the offers soon began to roll in as word started to spread about the rarity and excellent condition of the comic.

It is widely believed that Cage was the person selling the comic, as the listing described it as having been thought lost until being discovered in a storage shed - exactly like Cage's copy of the issue.

Only a handful of mint condition copies of Action Comics Number 1 are believed to have survived, with a tatty issue selling for USD 1.5 million in March last year.

Cage, who bought his copy for USD 150,000 in 1997, was once in talks to portray the Man of Steel when a reboot of the Superman film franchise was in development in the 1990s, but the project fell through.